


Detonation

by ColorTeal



Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Bleeding, Bombs, Character Death, Injury, Intense Anger, Laboratory Setting, Predacon, Project Predacon, Recordings, science gone wrong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-02
Updated: 2015-08-02
Packaged: 2018-04-12 15:53:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4485611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ColorTeal/pseuds/ColorTeal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thundercracker assists Shockwave with Project Predacon; Everything goes wrong in an instant, and Starscream and Skywarp are left with the rubble.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Detonation

**Author's Note:**

> This was a old draft I found in my docs and it's very old, easily 2 or 3 months but I found it at random while looking for something completely unrelated and I still like it a ton so here it is!

With a sharp _click_ and a soft _whir_ of the screen booting up, the dark of the room was suddenly and poorly illuminated with a soft blue light. In the bottom left of the screen, was a timestamp; 18:27.

Suddenly, the sound of crashes and powerful echoing screams came from the console, before someone spoke in the pauses taken by some unseen beast.

_“My name is Thundercracker. And I’m pretty sure tonight is the night that I die.”_

\----------

Thundercracker reached for the camera, fumbling with it to turn the camera on and attaching it to the side of his head.

“18:05, starting procedure on SW-805.” He said, hand reaching for a keyboard and fingers tapping away at the keyboard. “Shockwave, is the feed clear?”

“It is adequate.” Shockwave said, voice coming through a microphone. The head scientist was away in a secondary lab, but Thundercracker set up live video and audio between all of the purple mech’s labs so he could keep his optic on other projects in underground builds far from him.

“Continuing drain.” Thundercracker spoke clinically, fingers tapping at orange buttons that turned green. A massive glass tube reaching from floor to ceiling took up most of the space in the lab, and it made it hard for Thundercracker to navigate. The blue seeker wondered how the bigger Shockwave managed, or why this specific experiment had to be in this specific lab, but the bulk of his focus went into watching what was inside.

Shockwave said it was a Predacon.

Ancient Cybertronian life. But the purple scientist had spent years manually patching up what little CNA had survived through the war, pulled from other creatures, from himself even for 805. There were no records of complete CNA strands, but Shockwave had never let bigger obstacles stop him before.

“Drainage at fifty percent.” Thundercracker said, an update for Shockwave.

“Any response?” Shockwave asked ambivalently, seemingly uncaring for the result and sounding busy with other work.

“No, it’s- Wait. I believe I saw a flinch.”

“Any coughing? Lights?”

Thundercracker squinted, staring through the glass as amber fluid continued to lower. “Biolights coming online at a slow but noticeable pace. Optics are open now, and onlining.”

Progress, Thundercracker knew was all that was going through Shockwave’s brain regarding 805. Previous attempts grew into disgusting metal masses that vaguely resembled life if you knew what features to look for.

805 could die right now, and Shockwave would call this a ‘success’. For the blue decepticon personally, a success regarding Project Predacon would be achieving the goal of a living and thriving Predacon.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t his project, and not his calls to make.

_Kaff! Kaff!_

“Subject SW-805 is coughing, clearing its vents.” Thundercracker relayed. When no noise of any emotion came from the microphone near him, he cleared his throat and adjusted the camera attached to his head.

He watched as 805 pushed itself onto its clawed feet, red and bronze with swathes of royal blue and the most piercing white optics Thundercracker had ever seen. He noted everything in a datapad, watching the new creature look around its environment in his peripheral vision.

When 805 suddenly was clawing at the glass hard enough to leave grooves deep enough to give purchase to flying around in tight circles in her container, Thundercracker dropped everything, jumping back onto to throw his wings into the table behind him and reflexes from contact caused tools to scatter everywhere.

“Shockwave, 805 is going wild!”

“I can see this, Thundercracker.” Shockwave said, monotonal.

“Can! Can the glass contain it?!” Thundercracker moved, arms morphed into weapons by instinct.

“I do not know. I did not prepare for this specimen to survive.” Shockwave answered.

His honesty, usually appreciated, was no help.

“I thought you prepared for everything, you logic lovin-”

“I prepare for what I think is necessary, while also accounting for how important the project is.” Shockwave answered, no change in his voice. “Projects with more importance get the funding and resources they need to account for every possible outcome.”

Thundercracker could barely hear him over the sound of scraping, clawing, and screeching.

“And what about Project Predacon?!” Thundercracker tried to not shake, incase his aim became necessary. “How non-important was this?! Because Megatron wanted a beast army, and you’re not even funding it as well as it could be? You’re not preparing for as many outcomes as we both know there are?!”

“Megatron will get his army.” Shockwave said simply. “He is aware that the more he asks of me, the slower he will get anything from me.”

Thundercracker kicked against the floor, trying to force more room between him and 805’s clawing and shrieking, wings hiked up in fear.

“So what do I do?” He growled, one hand armed and the other holding the microphone to his lips.

“Transmit all lab data to the main facility.”

“Do we have time to-”

Thundercracker was cut off.

“Purge all lab data, and if the Predacon escapes… purge the lab.”

With a sharp _crack!_ the glass fractured, jagged pieces being forced away and claws scrabbled at the new hole 805 had made.

“Hrgh! Shockwave, 805 is through the glass!” Thundercracker shuffled his way to a console, tapping away one-handedly at it. “It’s going to get out!”

“Purge the data.”

“I’m doing that! One handed!” Thundercracker finally got the notification that all the data was packed and sent, straight to Shockwave’s main laboratory. “Sent! It’s sent! Shockwave?”

“I will see to the data when I return to my main underground lab.”

“The _Predacon_ , Shockwave!” Thundercracker screamed.

“I recommend you purge the laboratory, Thundercracker. SW-805 holds no more value to me, Megatron wants an army, not an animal.” Shockwave called out. “Lab T5 no longer has a purpose, I need all sensitive material destroyed. The code is 6791, manually input into any console and it will start a timer of fifteen seconds to prime the charges laid in the lab flooring.”

“Fifteen seconds?” Thundercracker repeated, wondering if he had misheard. “Are all your labs primed with explosives?”

“I work on many dangerous and sensitive projects.” Was Shockwave’s answer. “My smallest labs are for the most dangerous and sensitive of my research and works.”

“Is this why you don’t work in any of your little ‘mini labs’ like this one?” Thundercracker growled, feeling is frame heat up with anger at this realization.

Shockwave was silent. Predacon 805 let out a shrill scream, jaw biting wildly at the air as it tore apart more of the glass and the seeker shook in his armor. A thrashing claw made contact with Thundercracker’s head, and he screamed, camera falling to the floor with his energon.

He scuttled under a desk, and the wild lab-born creature went on its destructive binge, swatting at tables and digging and biting. Thundercracker tucked his wings in as a kicked table crashed into the one he hid under, badly startling him but providing more cover. He pushed his palm into his torn face. Energon seeped between the fingers, trailing down his arm and filling his seams as his free hand patted around until he found the camera.

“Death by explosion, or by wild Predacon clone? Lovely choices.” He talked to himself, falling into heavy venting while trying to keep pressure on his wound. He flinched at the sounds the Predacon made, screams so guttural and so deep he could feel vibrations in his chest.

Glancing around, Thundercracker found that a small portable console was in reach, and he set the camera down only for a moment to swipe it.

“Password input, synching camera data feed… input receiving unit code.” He mumbled as he worked. When the light turned green, he set the console down, and scooped the camera back up. “My name is Thundercracker,” he said, talking into the camera. “and I’m pretty sure tonight is the night that I die.”

Another screech. Another smash, followed by another crash and more shrieking, the clattering of metal claws on metal floors, of a tail dragging along.

“Starscream, do not, I repeat, do not allow anyone, if you can, to work with Shockwave. Unless you hate them. Then make sure they work for Shockwave.” He suddenly hissed with pain, flinching at more of the lab’s destruction. “He rigs his small labs with explosives, if anything goes awry the place is wiped clean in seconds via demolitions. Smart plan, but there’s no time to evacuate.”

_Crash! Clang clang skrrrt!_

“Listen to me. This is why he won’t work in his own small labs all over the planet.” Thundercracker fell to a whisper. “Another smart move, but I think we’ve both figured out where some of our scientists have gone.”

_Skree! **KAAAA** chrchrchrrr **RRAAH!**_

“I’m going to hope you get this. I’m going to hope that Shockwave isn’t intercepting everything coming out of this lab.” The blue Decepticon shook involuntarily now, hand and arm a dimly glowing blue.

Moving the camera, Thundercracker let it record him typing in the purge code. A prerecorded voice came over the lab, warning about the fifteen seconds until his destruction.

“Starscream, find some way to tell Megatron what’s going on.” Thundercracker suddenly coughed, thick energon splattering his camera. “Do whatever you can, Starscream. We can’t lose more scientists to Sh-”

“Lab Termination in Three. Two. One.”

 

* * *

 

“Skywarp?” Starscream grabbed at the edge of the door, pushing it aside with a soft _wshh_. “Skywarp, where the he- Ah. There you are.” The silver seeker caught a glimpse of purple in the low lighting.

It went from quiet to Skywarp trashing the base’s dim workspace in a fraction of a second.

“That one eyed monster! That freak! I hate him!”

“Skywarp! Stop!” Starscream tried to yell over his subordinate, storming over and trying to restrain Skywarp only to have the purple seeker break out of his arms. Skywarp rushed, kicking over what looked like might have been a table once.

“I hate him!” He snarled, slamming a fist down with a loud _Bang!_

“I can’t!” _Bang!_ “I hate him!” _Bang!_ “I’ll destroy him!” _Bang!_ “Rip him apart!” _Bang!_ “I’ll kill him!” _Bang! Bang! Bang!_

Starscream stood there. Skywarp was always the more violent one of his trine, and he knew well enough to stay out of his way now because at this point, there was no stopping him.

It took the complete destruction of six tables, a couple of chairs, and the screens of three computers, but he eventually wore himself out, panting hard in the center of his destruction.

“What did you _find_ , Skywarp?” Starscream asked, stern but quietly. Flexing his hands, breathing turning sharper as he remembered why he was angry, he quickly found and shoved the datapad into Starscream. Once it was in his leader’s hands, he stormed off into more of the wreckage, hands moving to rip all the keys left in the first keyboard he saw.

Video and audio played as the datapad came online. The view of a table, a camera focusing and dark hands reaching for a console.

_“18:05, starting procedure on SW-805.”_

Starscream recognized the voice.

“You found video of Thundercracker… We’ve both been wondering where he’s been, this sounds like just a record of his work with Shockwave….” Starscream, bored of the droning voices moved to fast-forward. He watched at three times the speed SW-805’s awakening, the destruction, the bloodied face of an injured Thundercracker, the split second of fear and shock before the whole thing stopped on a black screen.

Starscream looked around him. He set the datapad to the side, and leaned backwards into the wall, wings splayed out.

He was dead. Starscream knew about the charges Shockwave set into his smallest labs; It was his idea for that method of purging the most sensitive of research, it was Starscream who ordered the specifics, created the bombs specifically for these labs.

“...He said to tell Megatron, b-” Skywarp mumbled, hunched over and crunching keys in his fingers.

“I will.” Starscream answered, snapping. “I’ve been wondering why Shockwave kept asking for more and more decepticon scientists, I figured Megatron was putting more and more of a workload onto him, that he just needed more helping hands around…”

“We can’t.” Skywarp mumbled, half-growling now as keys clacked together in his hands.

“Why not!” Starscream threw himself forward, arm swiping everything off the nearest table, sending supplies and tools scattering, broken glass glittering on the floor. “Megatron needs to know that some of his scientists are-”

“He already knows!” Skywarp threw his hands open, dropping everything to throw the heels of his hands into pushing Starscream, enough force to crack his cockpit glass. “He already knows! I was warping around, looking for Soundwave’s symbiotes and I heard him! … He knows! He knows that Shockwave’s detonated unvacuated labs!”

Starscream huffed, optics open wide and fingers to the sides of his head. He caught and ignored Skywarp’s mispronunciation, fretting over this discovery.

“If he already knows then there’s nothing we can do.” Starscream said. “I’ll need someone to try to steer him away from leaning so heavily on a scientific course, focus more on training our existing forces instead.”

“Why can’t you?” Skywarp asked, causing Starscream’s solemn face to devolve further into a hard scowl.

“Did you forget I’m head of some of the science divisions, again?”

“Oh. Right.” Skywarp huffed. “What about Thundercracker?”

Starscream snarled in his breath, pulling on Skywarp’s arm too roughly to his side. “He doesn’t need anything anymore. We can mourn him later but we have things to do.”

Starscream let go, walking toward the open door into Cybertron’s night, stopping to look behind him when he didn’t hear the second’s footsteps behind him. He was met with big red optics in the dark.

“He should have been fighting. With us. He should have been where he belongs.”

“Is that blame I’m hearing?” Starscream hunched his shoulders, voice growing louder with each work as his wings flared out. “I know I ordered Thundercracker to go to Shockwave’s labs! Megatron asked for scientists! I was not aware Shockwave was willing to kill researchers, fellow Decepticons!” He stormed over, arm out to push against Skywarp, and he kept pushing until the black and purple jet crashed back-first into a wall. “Don’t you dare blame me for what happened!”

It was painfully silent, tension so heavy it caused the armor of both jets to sag.

Unfortunately for both of them, neither Skywarp nor Starscream were the apologizing type.  

 


End file.
